Turkey had lost in the semi-finals to Serbia 3-2 in an exhausting match and faced off against Italy for the last remaining medal position of the Championships. Turkey won the match against Italy 3-2 in a gruelling 112 minutes of play (25-21, 15-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-10).

Turkish player Neslihan Darnel had led the point scoring for Turkey, scoring 13 points in total and 12 winning spikes.

Turkish coach Marco Aurelio Motta said: “I’m proud of my players. This was a very important championship for my team. We managed to beat the teams of Russia and Italy, and I repeat it again – I’m very proud of my team and its performances.”

The bronze medal is a significant achievement for the Turkish women’s volleyball team. Turkey were not expected to mount such a charge at the championships and to come away with a bronze medal, the Turkish women can return to Turkey full of pride at their performance.